


Some Things Are Made to Last

by UnderwhelmingAlchemist



Series: Bucky Barnes is Bad at Valentine's Day [1]
Category: Captain America (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Bucky Barnes Recovering, Fluff, M/M, Marriage Proposal, Not Beta Read, The next tag contains spoilers for the end, Valentine's Day, Valentine's Day Fluff, You've been warned
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-14
Updated: 2021-02-14
Packaged: 2021-03-14 18:21:42
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,014
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29422986
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/UnderwhelmingAlchemist/pseuds/UnderwhelmingAlchemist
Summary: Three different Valentine's Days pass as Bucky Barnes recovers and rebuilds his relationship with Steve. Pure, shameless fluff. One of three Bucky slash fics written for Valentine's Day 2021.
Relationships: James "Bucky" Barnes/Steve Rogers
Series: Bucky Barnes is Bad at Valentine's Day [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2161443
Comments: 4
Kudos: 32





	Some Things Are Made to Last

**Author's Note:**

> Happy Valentine's Day! Or happy whenever you're reading this. This is one of three short fanfics I wrote in as many days, so it may not be amazing. Go easy on me please, hah!

Bucky had scattered memories of Valentine’s Day with Steve in the forties. Or… partially with Steve, anyways. 

He knew he always had a date, and that date obviously couldn’t be Steve. It wasn’t like he could just spend Valentine’s Day with another man and have people _not_ be suspicious. He wasn’t exactly a fan of being dragged into an alleyway and beaten to death, nor did he want that sort of thing to happen to Steve. But they always did _something_. 

He remembered one Valentine’s Day when he’d taken a girl out, then came home to Steve that night. They hadn’t done much other than eat dinner, light a candle, cuddle up on the couch, and spend a while just being together, but it was nice. It was one of the few nights Bucky wasn’t working or exhausted. He had a clear memory of sitting on the couch under a blanket, tiny Steve cuddled up to his side, slowly dozing off. He’d kissed the top of his head, earning himself a sleepy hum and a little smile. His heart had beat a little faster in that moment, and the thought crossed his mind that he was so ridiculously in love with him.

A lot of things had changed since then. Steve was a lot bigger, and Bucky was a lot less stable. He wasn’t going on dates all the time anymore, and they had enough money that date nights didn’t have to be one candle, cuddling on the couch, and not much else. And they could be open about the fact that it was, in fact, a date night. That was a concept that still hadn’t ceased to amaze Steve. Bucky had adjusted to it a little faster, considering that when he was first getting adjusted to normal life he couldn’t remember anything different than the world he was currently living in. But Steve still found himself in awe of the way things had changed. Bucky had taken him to a pride parade once and he was pretty damn sure Steve was on the verge of tears the entire time. 

Bucky had spent three Valentine’s Days with Steve in the twenty-first century.

The first had been strange. Bucky hadn’t been completely himself yet, and Steve was really the only concrete thing in his world. He’d been back in the real world by Steve’s side for a little over a year by then. He hadn’t actually remembered Valentine’s Day. He hadn’t really been leaving the apartment during the daytime, and when he left, he wasn’t going to any stores that might have informed him of the date. He usually just wandered around the streets aimlessly, occasionally picking up feral cats and bringing them home, much to Steve’s dismay. At one point they had six coming and going. 

Bucky had been lying in the floor in the living room, trying to coax one of the cats out from under the sofa while it hissed at him, when Steve had walked in. He’d looked up to find Steve standing there holding a bouquet of flowers. 

His initial reaction had been one of confusion. Why was Steve bringing him flowers? What had he done to deserve those flowers? Was there some sort of important date he’d forgotten?

Then Steve had cleared his throat and held out the flowers with a, “Happy Valentine’s Day,” and the pieces had clicked into place. He got to his feet, taking the flowers from Steve as he continued to speak. 

“I know we haven’t really defined what we are yet. But considering that you sleep in my bed and hold my hand during movies and when we’re walking around in public, it just… felt right. I’m sorry if I’m misreading this, but-”

“I think I love you,” he said bluntly. It seemed like as good of a time as any to drop that on him. Steve just stood there, blinking as he tried to process what Bucky had just said. Then he’d gently smiled. 

“I know I love you.”

Their second Valentine’s Day together Bucky had been a little more stable. He was remembering a lot more, and his relationship with Steve was a lot more clearly defined. Steve was his boyfriend. Thinking about it in those terms at the time had made him smile. _Steve_ was his _boyfriend_. Something about that concrete label made him feel more secure. Like no matter what happened, at least one thing in his life was certain. Steve had always been his constant, after all.

This time, he decided to actually put in effort on Valentine’s Day. He’d gone out and bought flowers for him, blue ones he thought he’d like. Blue had always been his favorite color. It was one of those strange little details that rattled around his head long before he could remember anything of substance. He’d found a card to go with them. Something cheesy about love being forever that he thought fit the two of them pretty well, considering that even after decades of torture and brainwashing, he and Steve had ended up together again. Like some things really were made so strong they couldn’t be broken. 

He’d gone out and done all this while Steve was on his morning run. He’d gotten home, scribbled a quick note inside of the card, put the flowers in a vase to display beside the card on the table, and then made a pot of coffee and sat on the counter to wait. 

Steve had come home sweaty and happy, like he always did after one of his runs. He’d beamed when he’d seen Bucky sitting on the counter, going to kiss him and grab a cup of coffee that would do absolutely nothing for him. It would have taken a nearly lethal dose of caffeine for him to feel the effects, but there was something familiar about coffee. Familiar. Warm. It was nice to have, even if it provided absolutely no practical benefits. 

Bucky smiled at the kiss, just waiting patiently for him to notice the flowers. It took another minute for him to pour himself a mug of coffee, turn to take a seat at the table, and notice the flowers. His eyes went wide as he stared at them. He set down his coffee in favor of picking up the card and reading through it. When he was done, he turned to Bucky, then quickly strode over to the counter and wrapped his arms around him, leaning up to kiss him, long and loving. When he pulled away, he was grinning.

“Thank you, Buck. They’re perfect.”

“Last year set the bar pretty low,” he chuckled with a soft smile. “All I had to do this time was remember.”

“And you did.”

“I did.” Bucky leaned down to kiss him again, slowly this time. He pulled away after a long moment. “Do you have any plans for today?”

“I was thinking I could take you to dinner. Maybe at that old diner from way back when?”

“Perfect.” He grinned, then found himself being pulled into another kiss. 

Their third Valentine’s Day together started with Bucky waking to the smell of pancakes and coffee. He gently nudged Alpine off his chest, smiling at the white cat’s indignant meows. “Calm down, girl. I’ll be right back.”

He slid out of bed, heading to the kitchen. He moved silently, creeping up behind Steve where he was standing at the stove, then wrapped his arms around his middle. Steve, to his credit, barely flinched, more than used to Bucky creeping up on him at that point. 

“I was wondering when you’d wake up.”

“Hey, just be happy I’ve been sleeping at all,” Bucky teased, placing a kiss on Steve’s cheek. He looked down at the stove, grinning when he saw that Steve was using a mold to make perfectly heart-shaped pancakes. He’d added just enough food coloring for the finished product to be lightly tinted pink. 

“Pink _and_ heart shaped? You’re a sap, you know that?” Bucky laughed. 

“Yeah, yeah. You say that, but you love me.” 

“Yeah, you’re right. I do.” 

Steve slid the last pancake onto the stack on the plate, turned off the stove, and turned in Bucky’s arms, draping his arms around his neck. “Did you actually remember Valentine’s Day this year?”

“Of course I did. I was gonna go get you some chocolates when you went on your run, which I guess you’re not doing today.”

“I have better things to do.” 

“Like make cheesy pancakes?”

“Shut up, you love it when I cook.”

“I don’t get why they have to be pink.”

“Why not? Food coloring is actually safe in this century, so we might as well use it.” 

“You’re ridiculous.”

“Mhmm.” Steve leaned in to capture Bucky’s lips, and stayed there for a long while. 

The pancakes were good, and the rest of the morning was uneventful. Steve ended up going on his run later than usual while Bucky went out and bought chocolates and a teddy bear that he thought Steve would get a kick out of. If he was the kind of romantic dork that made pink, heart-shaped pancakes on Valentine’s Day, he would likely appreciate a teddy bear holding a red plush heart.

And he did. He started laughing when he saw it, then declared he would treasure it forever and placed it on their dresser. It took about five minutes for Alpine to decide that the legs made a great sleeping spot. 

They spent the afternoon watching a movie. At about five, Steve disappeared into the kitchen again, banishing Bucky to the bedroom so he couldn’t catch wind of what exactly he was doing. So he spent a while sprawled out on their bed with a book, Alpine deciding to join him after a little while. 

It was about six-thirty when Bucky got the all-clear to head to the kitchen. He put his book down beside the cat and headed out of the bedroom. 

The lights were all off, but the kitchen was lit by candles. Dinner wasn’t overly elaborate. Steve had made pasta, sauce, and meatballs, along with garlic bread. Bucky laughed a little when he saw it all. “You know, when you said you were making dinner, this isn’t really what I expected,” he said with a raised eyebrow. Something had to be up. He’d made romantic dinners before, but this was over the top. 

“What, I can’t make my boyfriend a nice dinner on Valentine’s Day?” Steve kissed his cheek, then sat down on one side of the table.

“I mean, you can if you want. But seriously, what’s going on?”

Steve just smiled as he sat down, changing the subject. And for a long while they just sat, eating and talking. Steve seemed particularly fond of reminiscing about old times together that night. 

After about an hour, all their food was gone and it was getting late. Bucky was about to mention that maybe they should start cleaning up when Steve got out of his chair, pulled a small box from his pocket, and knelt down beside Bucky. 

Bucky’s eyes went wide as he watched Steve open the box as he spoke about old times and how he’d loved him since they were kids. His heart pounded in his chest, and the second Steve asked, “Will you marry me?” He was standing up and pulling him to his feet so he could kiss him. He cupped his cheek in his non-metal hand, kissing him hard and desperately, like he was trying to pour his whole heart into it. When he pulled away, he was grinning. 

“Steve. Of fucking course I’ll marry you.”

Steve’s whole face lit up with a mixture of elation and relief, and he wrapped his arms around Bucky, pulling him close. “I love you.”

“I love you too, Stevie.”

Later that night as Bucky lay in bed, studying the subtle band on his metal hand in the low light of the room, he thought about that card he’d bought the year before. Maybe some things really _did_ last forever.

**Author's Note:**

> The bouquet: https://www.fromyouflowers.com/products/beautiful_in_blue.htm
> 
> The ring: https://www.bluenile.com/channel-set-diamond-eternity-ring-platinum_53030
> 
> Follow me on Tumblr! I post about Stucky and SamBucky and marvel and also other stuff that interests me (hopefully the link works this time) [@underwhelmingalchemist](https://www.tumblr.com/blog/underwhelmingalchemist)


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